Field of the Invention
The subject of the present invention is a method for adhesively bonding glass sheets in a window aperture, particularly in a window aperture of the body of an automobile. In particular, a mounting method is proposed which enables the glass sheet to be removed easily if it is found necessary to do so. The invention is also directed to a glass sheet suited for use in said such a method, and a device (in the nature of a tool) for carrying out the method.
In the following description, reference will be made exclusively to automobile windshields; however, it should be understood that the invention may be applied to rear windows or any other windows of an automobile, as well as to the installation of windows in a building or vessel.
Currently there is a trend toward direct mounting of automobile windows onto the body, particularly in the case of front (windshields) and rear windows. A technique of this type is known whereby a strip of adhesive is deposited on the reverse side of the glass sheet, whereby a seal is formed between the two sides of the sheet, in the form of an opaque coating deposited along the periphery of the sheet. Such a system is described, for example, in German OS No. 20 38 016. After being applied in a plastic state, the strip of adhesive material hardens to produce the joint between the glass sheet and the window aperture in the automobile body.
If subsequently there is occasion to replace a glass sheet installed in this manner, a problem is presented. The adhesive strip must be detached, but there is difficulty in gaining access to it. There is a strong risk that the tools which must be employed for this purpose will damage the face of the glass sheet at its periphery. The hardness of the adhesive strip after polymerization greatly reduces the possibility of manipulating the glass sheet within the window aperture, and it becomes a laborious operation to cut or gouge the glass sheet free. It has been proposed to release the glass sheet by means of a tool in the form of a wire or the like, whereby the wire is pushed transversely into the adhesive strip and then longitudinally through said strip at the edges of the glass sheet.